New Artist Spotlight: Seth & Nirva

While Seth and NIrva may be new names to most,
chances are, if you’re a concert-going CCM fan, you’ve probably seen them live!
They both got their start singing background for various artists like TobyMac,
Kirk Franklin and Chris Tomlin, just to name a few.

After years of ministry apart, however, the couple
(who have been married for 7 years) felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit to walk
in a different direction together. That path has led them to the forthcoming
release of the first album, I Need You.

CCM got to
chat with the duo about marriage, ministry and music…

CCM: After such amazing solo gigs, how did this new
moniker and EP come about?

Nirva: We’ve made careers of singing background for
Christian artists and other artists and have finally been afforded the
opportuniy to make this EP.

Seth: We’ve loved being a part of other people’s
ministries. After we got married, we decided to do ministry and travel
together. We started working on stuff, but we have somewhat busy somewhat busy
lives… It took five years to do six songs. But we’re ready to jump in and get
started !

CCM: Given the diversity of the artists you’ve worked with
in the past, how would you describe your sound?

Nirva: The collection of songs is petty diverse.
There pop, funk, soul, hip hop, R&B all mixed together to create a message
of hope.

Seth: When we started four or five years ago, I took
a few songs she’d already been working, looked at some of my songs an started
noticing there was a nice flow to the content thematically. Basically we laid
it out and saw a theme of testimony—testifying to what He has done. In a sense
the album is that testimony. It goes in to free people. God sets us free
through gospel and spirit.

Nirva: I didn’t grow up in church. I was born again
in college. I sang with a traveling ensemble group and one night we visited a
church while they were having a revival. I ran to the altar before she was even
done preaching. I found Jesus and began to work with him personally.

Seth: I did grow up in a Christian home. My parents
were very dedicated with their relationship with Christ. It was a blessing. But
when you go off to college, you have to make your faith your own. College was a
struggle for me intellectually. That’s part of what has motivated me to be in
young adult ministry. I’ve been the young adult pastor at Crossing Church in
Tampa FL for two years. Tampa is one of the most un-churched cities in the
nation. 60-80% of young adults leave the church after high school. I thought it
was an intellectual issue, but more times than not, realized it was relational.
A lot of people feel like there’s a lack of authenticity in the church. Which
is why you have to connect with people and get to know them. It’s about being
in life with people.

CCM: On the relationship note, how have you two managed to
work together creatively, while maintaining a happy marriage?

Nirva: We naturally get along well, which makes it a
lot easier. We definitely work at it. It takes understanding and a willingness
to work at even knowing how to work at it. It all comes down to God-given
grace.

Seth: The further we get into this adventure, the
more we’re seeing some potential issues. We were working on a Christmas program
once and I was in producer mode. I took the liberty to ask her to change some
things she was doing. She then took the liberty to tell me to ask her if she
wanted to change things.

Nirva (laughing): Whenever we are stage together, it
feels natural. I feel so much stronger and have so much more fun with him.